Your plan in four answers
Set for October 17, 2027, about 51 weeks out.
- Distances
- 10K, 10 miles, Half marathon, Marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- September 29, 2027
Course
The Twin Cities Marathon course
Minneapolis to St. Paul past a chain of lakes and along the Mississippi, often called the most beautiful urban marathon in America.
Read the full course notes
The sting is the long climb on Summit Avenue in the last five miles.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- 10K, 10 miles, Half marathon, Marathon
- Weather on race day
- Early October in Minnesota is usually cool and excellent for racing, with fall color along most of the course.
What to train for
The Summit Avenue climb comes after mile 20, so train hills at the end of long runs rather than the start.
Banking time early here is a mistake.
Sample week
A sample Twin Cities Marathon training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 mile at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 6–7 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 10 mi with 6 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–18 mi, the last 4 mi at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Twin Cities Marathon
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on October 17, 2027, your taper starts around September 29, 2027.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 17, 2027. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Twin Cities Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Twin Cities Marathon?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the Twin Cities Marathon course hilly?
Rolling. Minneapolis to St.
What is the weather usually like at the Twin Cities Marathon?
Early October in Minnesota is usually cool and excellent for racing, with fall color along most of the course.
When should I start tapering for the Twin Cities Marathon?
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on October 17, 2027, your taper starts around September 29, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Twin Cities Marathon training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.